4177's Unhinged Charts 2022-23 (Part I)

Well would you look at that; the blog is back online!

A kind thanks to Vivian 25' for re-opening LMF's blog, it is truly an exciting time to have nothing better to do. 

In her last post, Vivian mentioned a somewhat "quirky" and "chaotic" class of 2026, words that I, as a member of said class can only describe as a gross understatement.  For you see dear reader, we are a rowdy, unpredictable bunch, with interests and talents of all shapes and sizes. But rather than describe our class to you, I think I'll show it. 

You see, about halfway through the year, I realized I could write dumb things on the whiteboard in the elevator lounge outside my room, and, better yet, if so inclined, other passers-by would also write on said board. So were born the chaotic charts of 4177. At LMF, we like to draw charts, categorizing our members in a wholesome, community-building activity.

Ratatouille, Fois gras, Paris, Provence, où êtes-vous ?

The charts outside my room, are the same, but uhh... stupider. We began quite simply, ranking... things... on a scale from "Omegalul" to "BIG." It is not the first time the hellish 8.012 would appear, and the characteristic unhinged arrows really add flavor to this and future charts. This chart, originally spawned from a one-off bit with Alfonso 24', grew into a tradition after Tobi 26' and Kailyn 26' expressed their appreciation (upper right).

Featuring a jab at the Mexican national soccer team, the best equation of 18.06, and a correct opinion about the fingering of Bb on clarinet

We continued with a more informative chart, helpfully telling LMF that in terms of self-fulfillment, trebuchets >> 20-2 pineapples (ask Anson 26') >> sleep >> yo mama. To say the least, the lack of trebuchets (and lack of sleep) that endured in the house indicated that this chart was at least a little underappreciated.

Only those with the best taste will understand that Posy #3 > Posy #4

The next chart continued our efforts to aid our house, providing a helpful tier list of breakfast foods. Fun fact: this chart is correct, if you disagree then you are quite simply wrong. Waffles, apples, and tea were, accurately, placed above scrambled eggs, coffee, and hot chocky, and foods from England were, rightfully banished to the bottom of the whiteboard. The chart while popular, continued to be in vain, LMF continued to, on average, wake half an hour before lecture, mozzy over to the communal fridge to consume last night's rice and curry, and sprint to building 10 to catch the last ten minutes of class. Alas and alack, for the breakfast foods we crave are oftentimes skipped by the hosed MIT student.

To clarify, we don't actually hate Britain here. It's just a bit.

Well, that is all for the moment, tune in for next post, featuring five more idiotic charts, and the second half of my slow descent into madness.

Au revoir!

Events that Defined LMF in 2022-2023

Hello, this is Vivian, the LMF historian and secretary! I am a member of the Class of 2025 and a Course 6-7. It has been 32 months since someone wrote a blog on this website, the last one written by another Vivian from the Class of 2020. For some context, I appointed myself the role of historian this year as I wanted to do an LMF history project that involved interviewing alums and gathering various documents of the past (pictures, videos, etc.). While a substantial part of the LMF history project has been completed as I have interviewed over a dozen alums from the Class of 1978 to 2020, I still have work to do, including documenting memorable events during the school year. 

The 2022-2023 school year went by quickly, and we welcomed a fun Class of 2026 that made LMF livelier and somewhat more chaotic. Here are some notable events that we probably won't forget many years down the road, each having its own eccentricities. 

Events: 

Random Hall LMF Milk (10/27/22 Thursday): 

On Thursday afternoon, a plastic bottle containing very old milk exploded in the kitchen. The horrible stench filled up the entire kitchen, causing cook team to move to the country kitchen to cook dinner. It took around a day for the smell to go away, so the kitchen was pretty much off-limits for the rest of the night. LMF used a fan and odor eliminators to resolve the issue. 

Slack chat history of the milk incident

How did this happen in the first place? According to Melbourne '24, the current LMF president, "The milk was in Frigo 1 for about a month till the end of September. Then it was taken out for fridge cleaning and the owner was notified." For some unknown reason, the milk in the plastic bottle was left on the windowsill. Either the owner or the person cleaning the fridge forgot about it. Over time, this bottle was forgotten and people never really thought of this suspicious-looking bottle as a problem. After being under the sun for a long time, the color turned from white to brown over time, so people weren't aware that the bottle originally contained milk and instead thought it was some liquid containing fertilizer for plants. Also, the stench was well-kept inside the plastic bottle and never leaked until the day when too much gas buildup inside the bottle and then it exploded. 

While this milk incident is not the same as Random Hall milk since we never stored it for future generations of LMF, nevertheless it is indeed a very interesting incident. The main takeaway is that if you see something strange that's rotting or decomposing, just throw it away. No questions asked. What if there will be another similar situation to this one in the future? We hope not. 

Mysterious Paper Scraps (11/19/22 Saturday): 

On Saturday morning, LMF residents saw something unusual on the quiet lounge table: many tiny scraps of paper covered with Maela's name in small font. The event may have been done in reaction to Maela's name being on each tiny whiteboard outside each room in LMF. Not surprisingly, this event really concerned Maela. To determine who the person was, people in LMF wrote on the quiet lounge whiteboard the names of residents and did process of elimination. The culprit turned out to be Anson '26 and he confessed to doing this for amusement and fun. 

The Broccoli War (week of 2/10/23 Friday): 

The first week of the 2023 spring semester started off in a rather unusual way. A week before 2/10/23 Friday, Teo '26 hung up some interesting posters that said "prepare yourself" to build some anticipation for their broccoli-themed menu. Nothing much happened until a few days before Friday when there were big posters that involved taping many printed pieces of paper together to make a big picture from the broccoli mosaic virus to a long document generated by chatGPT declaring broccoli to be bad and illegal.

   The ChatGPT-generated law in various languages 

The moldy broccoli 

A fat X over Teo's broccoli drawing 

These large-scale posters were made by Anson '26. Teo '26 retaliated by drawing a comic about how good broccoli is on the big whiteboard near their room as well as writing about how broccoli should be celebrated in LMF on the whiteboard outside the kitchen. 

Inspired by the Bible 

Writing broccoli on people's board 

Despite Anson's opposition to broccoli, the broccoli-themed menu was a success. To celebrate broccoli, there were many green balloons that hung around the LMF kitchen and green streamers. The menu consisted of the following items: 

Protein: Broccoli Quiché

Starch: Broccoli Farfelle

Vegetable 1: Roast Parmesan Broccoli

Vegetable 2: Sautéed Chili Broccoli

Side: Broccoli Cream Soup

The broccoli dinner

Teo wearing the broccoli crown 

CPW Decorations (4/13/23 Thursday to 4/15/23 Saturday): 

A few days before the start of CPW, the German House put their CPW events outside our kitchen as a small prank. Other communities in New House were also postering in various places around the dorm. But was there a more creative and attractive way to entice some prefrosh to come to LMF instead of other places in New House? Anson '26 was quite creative by creating an extremely long paper trail in the French colors of red, white, and blue. This trail started from the New House desk and went up from the first floor of Tower 1 to the outside of the LMF kitchen on the fourth floor. 

It is truly a wonder how the paper trail was taped and made. 

Face Morph Pictures (May): 

Anson '26 put a face morph picture of two roommates on the door of each double in LMF. The accuracy of each picture varied, with some looking 50/50 of each person while others looked more like one person over the other. Some faces looked real and familiar, like Melissa '23+1 and Ashley '23 's, while others looked like an AI generated one like Lila '25 and Kate '25 's. The face morph pictures were an amusing topic to discuss in the LMF kitchen. 

A face morph of Melissa '23+1 and Ashley '23

Conclusion: 

While this blog post doesn't cover some key events of LMF like Dîner de Nöel or Senior Brunch, the events covered in this blog are unique and memorable. I can't wait to see what will happen in my next two years at LMF with this community of wonderful people. 

The Days of the Apocalypse

 Disclaimer: The following events are definitely not fresh in my mind, but I did promise to write about the Covid-19 Crisis and the Great Campus Exodus. In retrospect, a lot of these events will seem highly irresponsible, overdramatic, and irrational. They’re also probably distorted since it’s been six months (!) But, if you want to get a glimpse of the craziness that was March 2020 at MIT, then gather around and let me tell you a story ;)

People in 2012 thought the ancient Mayans had predicted the end of the world, but little did they know the Mayans were off by about eight years. In early March 2020 on MIT’s campus, students were still reeling from President Reif’s email that CPW was cancelled. Of course, everything was about to get much worse, very quickly.

First, the rumors. The rumors whipped around campus like papers caught in the Macgregor Wind Tunnel. School’s going to be remote. Admin’s going to send us home. If Harvard shuts down, MIT is definitely following. 

Harvard shuts down. 

A screenshot of the announcement is forwarded through email, slack, and messenger faster than the virus can spread. Other scarier rumors follow suit and spread twice as fast. Someone in CSAIL had covid. Someone in Simmons had covid. I heard from a friend’s dad who’s a public official say that Boston is going to shut down the airport on Tuesday, so you need to get out now or you’ll be stuck.

People call their parents and make last-minute plans to fly or drive home. Others are scrambling to find housing in Cambridge because they don’t have a place home. Applications for exemptions to stay on campus are being rejected, even for international students. Dormspamming rules are thrown out the window, and nearly 200 students are replying to an email thread titled, “[Sponge-talk] Has Anyone Received an Exemption?”.

Panic ensues. Packing, crying, hugging, gathering, drinking (definitely not socially distant behavior, but then again, everyone was freaking out). Somehow in the midst of it all, an iconic picture of people hoisting a Purell station gets snapped in Killian Court.

PC: Zidane A. 20’

But let’s back up. Now that the setting is set, I’ll tell the story from my point of view. 

3/5/2020 Email

Effective immediately, if you are planning any in-person MIT event with more than 150 attendees that will take place between now and Friday, May 15, on campus or off campus, you must postpone, cancel or “virtualize” it.

3/10/2020 Email

We are requiring undergraduates to depart from campus residences no later than noon on Tuesday, March 17.

Somewhere around this time, I bike to Supreme and buy three bottles of wine because why not. Nothing feels real. Nobody is showing up to classes.

I feel… deflated? Like I was a floating balloon, but then someone punched all the air out of me, and now I’m falling to the earth in an endless freefall. As a senior, I thought I had more time to catch up with friends and explore Boston. I was perpetually hosed with psets, rehearsals, and meetings, and I kept thinking that I would hang out later, when I had time. Except now, that time had evaporated.

Graduation was also on my mind. I remember in some of my darkest hours (figuratively and literally staying up too late in the night), something that pulled me through was the dream of walking across Killian to get my diploma. Now that dream evaporated, too. 

Why had I worked so hard for the past four years if everything was ending like this? Where were the promised rewards of Senior Week, Commencement, and making lifetime memories?

(Honestly, I still had my degree, I still graduated, and I still see some of my friends over zoom, so I was definitely being dramatic. But, these were my thoughts back then. At least, as far as I can remember.)

The next night, LMF piles into Sarah’s room for a last wine night. I think I played a card game with Jasmine and Uyen. People are stressed, but we’re also together. It’s like everyone is trying to squeeze all the memories and bonding from the rest of the semester into these few days.

3/12/2020 Thursday

Of course, there is a socially distant protest in the Infinite. Students are protesting admin for the rejection of exemptions for international students and others who don’t have any other place to go. 

I attend an early graduation ceremony for Course 3. We take a group picture in the room with colored squares, and we talk to the instructors who’ve taught us for the past three years. Despite their busy schedules, the professors and teaching staff make time for us. Jeff promises to bring us together again, eventually, when it’s safe to do so, and that makes everything a bit more bearable. I almost cry when I realize my lab instructor is giving me life advice for maybe the last time.

LMF scrambles together a senior sendoff for dinner. Instead of senior menus, we have bento boxes that Rebecca, our wonderful GRA, ordered. We dress up, hear speeches, and I have to rush off to Kresge before it ends because MITSO is recording in place of the concert we would have had. But I’m really touched that French House organized this dinner last minute, signed portraits of us (drawn by the artistic Melody!), and bought special desserts for us.

After rehearsal, I’m back at Next with a few MITSO people in our last post-concert hangout. As per tradition, we’ve ordered Domino’s cheesy bread, and a grad student is shaking his head at the situation and offering his place to stay if anyone needs it. Even though Covid-19 is about to scatter everyone away, I’m struck by how much it’s also pulled everyone together before we all leave.

We call Ellie, who was the MITSO president last year, since she missed the recording. The hangout doesn’t feel quite complete without her, but she doesn’t pick up, and this is why:

3/12/2020 Thursday 10:44PM Text

MIT Advisory: Friday classes cancelled & undergraduate move-out by Sunday. 

If campus was panicked before, everybody is now freaking out. The MITSO gathering disperses as different people excuse themselves to call their parents, and I stumble back to my room because I have to pack. I have two days less than I thought, and I need to cancel my plane tickets and buy new ones.

On Friday, French House has a hog roast. In some way or another, the treasurer has managed to pull the funds from our would-be senior menus together to order an entire hog and its roasting spit, which is parked behind New House and must be watched for about 12 hours while it’s cooking to make sure nothing is set on fire. I am amazed through all the chaos, somehow somebody in French House managed to organize this and make it happen.

It was actually a beautiful day that morning, except for the smoke rising from the roasting hog, which floated into people’s rooms at Next and caused some concern. Thankfully, the smoking stopped after a bit.

That night, the hog is served to the non-vegetarians with gravy. It is delicious, and there is absolutely too much food given everyone is going to clear out in two days.

Saturday is spent packing my things and French House things. During the day, eight people pack into a five-seater rental car and drive across the bridge to DPhiE’s house to say goodbye to Liz. I’m so busy I didn’t have lunch. I threw some leftover pork in black tupperware so I could eat on the way. Liz lived with us freshman year and never left cook team since. When she sees us, she smiles and claps her hands to her cheeks. 

After our goodbyes, we’re back in French House. While I pack, I drink wine. I look at the memories that have accumulated on my wall: various Broadway posters of shows I’ve attended through MIT’s student discount, letters of encouragement and gratitude from my friends, polaroid photos of me and my family line at DPhiE and my 21st birthday with Azzo. I take pictures of all these memories. Then, I tear everything down.

At some point, Kedi says her dad is here and she’s leaving, and even though I swear I haven’t processed what she’s said, my eyes are already leaking.

Someone passes by our room in the hallway, and Kedi goes out and says something like, “Guess what? I told Vivian I was leaving and she burst into tears!”

I say goodbye to my roommate for the past two years. It’s weird to see her side of the room empty, when it was so full of stuff just yesterday.

At night, Alena, David, Jessie, Jakob, Emily, Kristin, and I sit in the quiet lounge. We take a break from packing and watch Princess Diaries and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Of course, Kristin, David, and I sing along to the musical, but otherwise the movie is very strange, especially without Neil Patrick Harris.

Around 2AM, we resume packing everything in the kitchen into boxes. Broadway music is blasting from the speakers, but we take a moment to turn down the music. Jakob switches off the lights, and we gather around the countertop. He torches the leftover alcohol that’s pooled in a bowl. Blue flames with orange tails swirl around each other and fly upwards. There is a moment of silence for… the uncertainty? The end? 

“Au revoir La Maison Francaise,” I say.

“Goodbye French House,” Jakob translates. (He doesn’t know French.)

The flames die, the lights are turned back on, and we continue piling baking supplies, bags of flour, and pots and pans into boxes.

The next morning, I leave. As I pass the Quiet Lounge, I see David sleeping on the couch. I think I went in and said goodbye, but he didn’t hear me, and I didn’t want to wake him, so I left. Sleep-deprived, I board the airport shuttle next to Kresge. As I stare out the window at the receding buildings that have grown so familiar over the past four years, I still feel like I’m half-dreaming. Am I actually awake?

This is my last day at MIT.

But of course, it wasn’t my last day seeing people. Behold the power of technology (and zoom). Like has been said before, MIT is special because of the people. I’m afraid this ending is going to sound like a Hallmark movie or something cringey emotional, but just because most of French House is physically separated doesn’t mean I’ve never seen them again.

I have high hopes one day in the future, when Covid-19 is just a bad dream, everyone will reconvene in the Macgregor dance room for Diner de Noel. It will be the most outstanding reunion ever, complete with great food and overflowing with nostalgia. I fully expect something grand on the order of magnitude of a hog roast.

I’m counting on you, future LMF.

An LMF 2020 Appreciation Post

AKA a few of my favorite memories

Having just graduated in MIT's first online commencement, I did not feel that much closure to these last four years. I don't think the commencement organizers could have done much differently - there's only so much you can do to replace the feeling of everyone being together in the same physical space. However, the mini zoom celebrations afterward (for me: Course 3, Terrascope, and DPhiE) were filled with nostalgia, goodbyes, and the promise of reunions. LMF already did an amazing job at putting together a last-minute senior sendoff during the insanity of our last days on campus (which I should probably detail in a later blog post, since I guess that was a unique moment in history), but I will add my own post-graduation celebratory post in honor of our class year in LMF.

Here are some of my favorite memories, in no particular order:

Azzo

Thank you for taking me out to a bar on my 21st birthday! Even though it took a while, since the first bar wouldn't accept your Oxford ID rip, it was a lot of fun. I don't know how it happened, but we coincidentally share orchestra and writing hobbies, which is pretty convenient, except when you send me viola > violin memes. A runner-up memory, which unfortunately I didn't have a great picture of, was that time we played background music for Dolce & Gabbana, and we got paid but one of the managers was pretty rude and snobby, and honestly the entire experience was kind of surreal. Here's to sharing more surreal memories in the future!

Azzo and I out and about on my 21st birthday!

 David

This picture is that day we went hiking in the summer with Liz and Jesse after seeing Tanglewood during a downpour. For some reason, even though the trails were pretty flooded and we were mostly skipping on slippery rocks, it was still a fun trip. I didn't want to deal with uploading a video onto this website, but perhaps my favorite part of the hike was when we had to work together to cross a rushing river by dislodging a tree trunk and using it as a bridge to cross to the other side. I think we were crazy, but it worked. Second favorite memory would probably have to be that time we went to EC and you showed off your dance skills to Taylor Swift. Thanks for being a great friend and president!

David in a yellow raincoat in the woods.

Effie

My favorite memories are basically all the LMF trips that you organized. Throwback to our most recent trip in Quebec, which was my first time in Canada. I don't think any of our 2020 trips would have been possible without your amazing organizational skills and Airbnb sightings, not to mention you are the most trusted driver in our group and put together great playlists. Second favorite memory would have to be freshman year when Kedi, Larry, and I went to cheer you on in Terra-hockey and we were pretty much the only people in the audience ("try to do BETTER!"). Good luck in California!

Our senior fall trip in Quebec <3

Jakob

I could have picked the memory from freshman year when we painted the Tardis door together in old New House, and you had basically painted everything, but because I have better handwriting and apparently come across as more *artsy*, everybody thought it was me. But I decided to opt for an even earlier memory. This was the first time I went to the BSO, and I remember being super excited but also disappointed because a really tall guy sat in front of me and I couldn't see anything. You switched seats with me, which I was thankful for, and even though I joke that you need to work on your personality, sometimes your personality is okay.

Jakob, Mary, and me coming from the BSO.

 Kedi

This is an early memory from the Terrascope spring break trip. Again, I didn't want to deal with uploading videos, but I will forever remember how to eat a taco correctly. Thanks for being a wonderful roommate for the past two years, and I can't wait to visit you in New York and watch Broadway! Another favorite memory (or memories) would have to be interning at Form with you and getting free lunch everyday, or riding in Jarrod's car on the way back from FormFest. Congrats again on Fulbright and your NSF fellowship!

Freshman Kedi and Vivian in Mexico City.

 Kristin

Tragically, I don't have a picture of both of us at Dear Evan Hansen, but the fact that you won the lottery and invited me to come with you like the day after my birthday was one of my favorite birthday gifts ever! Thank you for being sweet and having taste (in musicals and spiciness), and I wish we could have been on the same cook team together. Second favorite memory - beating Zade and Effie at partner hearts haha.

Watching Dear Evan Hansen with Kristin!

 Liz

This is a photo from the summer when somehow you managed to get free tickets to see a national gymnastics competition in TD Garden. I don't even know how that worked out, but watching the gymnasts perform with you was something I'll never forget. It was crazy to have four acts going on at once, and my eyes couldn't decide what to focus on because everyone was so talented and athletic. Also hearing you fangirl about Simone Biles was great lol. Runner-up memory is probably when we went to see Toy Story 4 for your birthday. Thanks for being such a great friend in LMF and DPhiE, and hope that we get to be roommates next year!

Liz and I about to witness pure talent and athleticism.

Félicitations to all the LMF seniors who graduated!!!